Lexington District United Methodist Church

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Jessica — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:13:11 +0000

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2012 Annual Conference Agenda

Jessica — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:43:27 +0000

Northern Kentucky Convention Center
One West RiverCenter Blvd.
Covington, Kentucky 41011
June 11-13, 2012

Sunday, June 10

2:00 p.m. Methodist History Seminar (Location TBA)

5:00-8:00 p.m. Registration Begins (Lobby)

5:30 p.m. Youth Rally (Hall 1)

Monday, June 11

8:00 a.m. Registration Begins (Lobby)

8:30 a.m. Ordination Rehearsal (Hall 1)

9:30 a.m. Clergy Executive Session (Hall 1)

9:30 a.m. First Time Laity Session (room to be named)

10:00 a.m. Laity Session (Ballroom A/B)

11:30 a.m. Lunch Break
Clergy Spouse Lunch

1:30 p.m. Opening Worship, Communion, Service of Remembrance (Hall 1)
                   Bishop Lindsey Davis, preaching

3:30 p.m. Organizational Session & Worshipful Work/Plenary (Hall 1)

5:30 p.m. Dinner Break

7:30 p.m. Service of Ordination and Commissioning (Hall 1)
Bishop Charlene Kammerer, preaching

Tuesday, June 12

8:30 a.m. Morning Devotion (Hall 1) Rev. Mark Windley

9:15 a.m. Worshipful Work/Plenary (Hall 1)

11:45 a.m. Instructions for Afternoon of Service (Hall 1)

Noon Lunch

2:00 p.m. Afternoon of Service

5:30 p.m. Dinner Break

7:30 p.m. Mission Celebration
Rev. Dr. Warren Lathem, preaching

Wednesday, June 13

8:30 a.m. Morning Devotion (Hall 1) Rev. Dr. Iosmar Alvarez

9:15 a.m. Worshipful Work/Plenary (Hall 1)

11:15 a.m. Retirement Celebration

Noon Lunch Break
Retired Clergy Lunch

2:00 p.m. Worshipful Work/Plenary (Hall 1)

3:30 p.m. Reading of Appointments & Sending Forth (Hall 1)

4:00 p.m. Adjournment

reMarks

Jessica — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:34:11 +0000

The longer I have been in ministry (and especially a District Superintendent) the more obvious it has become that if someone claims to be a spokesperson for the United Methodist Church they are: a) wrong and b) expressing a view that is often contrary to the official United Methodist position. And they will most likely find willing listeners among the secular media. For example, a couple of years ago a staff person (and not a very high placed staffer at that) at one of our Boards and Agencies spoke to a newspaper reporter and indicated that the United Methodist Church was a supporter of an upcoming March in Washington, D.C. that was advocating a social agenda that was in conflict with the Social Principals of the church. That person was quoted in a major paper as a “spokesperson” for the United Methodist Church and the story was picked up and discussed on the radio program of a conservative talk radio personality. A member of one of our churches heard the radio program and called me wanting to know why the United Methodist Church was sponsoring (and helping fund) this march. Eventually the statement was traced to its source and it was learned that this person was not a spokesperson for the United Methodist Church and that the church was not sponsoring or funding the march. It was a case of an individual who happened to be a United Methodist, and who worked for a church agency, expressing her own personal views. The newspaper put out a clarification but I don’t think the talk show host ever did. The most recent example of this has to do with persons claiming to be spokespersons for the Church asserting that the United Methodist Church is anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian. I recently had a great conversation with a couple of fine United Methodists who were struggling with this misinformation in their church. And I made these points. First, no one individual officially speaks for the United Methodist Church. That is the responsibility of the General Conference which meets every four years and carefully scrutinizes and revises the social principals and polity of the church so that they reflect the churches best understanding of scripture as well as the consensus of the majority of the members of the church. If there is a question about the moral and social issues of our day, take a look at the Book of Discipline if you really want to know the position of the church. View individuals who claim to speak for the church with great skepticism and never accept their statements at face value. And secondly, in dealing with a church of many millions of people, representing cultures from all around the globe, there is bound to be a diversity of theology and opinion. We should not fear the discussion of the important issues of our day. One of the pillars of John Wesley’s faith quadrilateral is reason – the intellect. The discussion can be good and healthy but in the end we must come to rest on the bedrock that is the word of God. I know that our delegates to General Conference spend a great deal of time in prayer and discernment before they wrestle with the weighty issues of the church and I trust them to lead the church well. And finally, I would urge us to not get so bogged down in the political and cultural “debates” of our day that we lose our focus on that which is truly essential – witnessing to the presence of Christ in our lives and making disciples for the transformation of the world. I believe that in the context of true discipleship the answers to the questions which confront us become clear and drive us forward into God’s preferred future for His church. It is my prayer that every church in the Lexington District will truly be a place where souls are won and disciples are made and formed to the glory of Almighty God.

A New Conversation

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:43:53 +0000

In our Harvest Celebrations I have been talking about the need to change the conversation in the church. Instead of talking so much about what's wrong with the church, we need to be talking about all that's right with the church. Instead of trying to figure out how to "fix" the church based upon our weaknesses, we need to thinking about how we can build from our strengths. Isn't that what the Apostle Paul did in writing his letters to churches? He had some difficult words for the church at Corinth and other places, but before he got to what was wrong, he commended them for all that was right. The General Church needs to learn it's lessons well from Paul. But there are also many times when we need to change the conversation in our local church. Too often we focus on the negatives. We talk about what we aren't doing, rather than what we are. We talk about what we can't do, rather than what we can. Too often we focus on what we don't like about our church, our pastors and each other, rather than all there is to like. And while it is true that there are problems in the church and that none of us, individuals and churches alike, are doing all that Jesus is calling us to do, I believe that a prevailing negative spirit in our midst is the biggest reason that many of our churches are struggling. Almost always those negative voices are few but too often they are the loudest voices. Such a negative spirit compromises our witness and keeps us from being a force for transformation in people's lives and our communities. Too often we let those negative voices dominate the conversation and control the church. If we are going to be churches filled with disciples making disciples for the transformation of our communities and our world then we have got to change the conversation and stop letting those negative voices rise above the Spirit of God. Our Board/Council meetings need to become celebrations of all that the church is doing and times of strategizing around ways to build from our strengths. And dear friends, if that's not happpening in your church, then I challenge YOU to begin to change the conversation.

Telling the New Old Story

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:45:57 +0000

The other day my daughter (who is now 27 years old) sent me a link to a new app for my IPad/IPhone that was based on the classic children’s book The Monster At The End Of This Book, starring lovable, furry old Grover. When she was little it was one of her favorites and we read it a lot. Now it’s in a digital format and downloadable to my latest electronic device. At first I was skeptical but was relieved to see that the story hadn’t been altered, just the method of delivery updated to meet the needs of the latest generation. I’m guessing that there are many other books from her childhood that have been digitized so that they can be enjoyed by new generations. And so, I got curious about some of the books that were special for me while growing up. For instance, I was a huge fan of the Hardy Boys. I read every one of their mysteries and couldn’t wait until the next one came out. I can remember going shopping with my mom and rushing to the book department to see if there was a new one available. It only took me a day or two to read it through and then the anxious wait for the next book would begin again. I searched the “Kindle Store” and sure enough the Hardy Boys are now available in a digitized format. And these were not new stories. I recognized the titles The Tower Treasure, The Secret of The Old Mill, While The Clock Ticked. They were the classic and apparently timeless stories of my childhood, but as I sampled the digital books I noticed that the stories were now told in a more contemporary way so as to appeal to new generations. The essence of the stories had not changed but the way they were told had. And then I noticed that there were also new Hardy Boy adventures being written. Frank and Joe were more than memories. They lived on. And I have to tell you that it was somehow comforting and inspiring to know that there were still young people who delighted in the exploits of Frank and Joe Hardy and who still today waited with great excitement for the next installment to be released. How great it is that someone has figured out how to tell these old classic stories in timely and relevant new ways so that generation after generation can be touched and inspired by them.
I wonder why it is that the church has sometimes been so slow to grasp such an essential concept. Time after time we have resisted all efforts to tell the timeless story of God in new and relevant ways. The tension between “traditional” and “contemporary” music, the reluctance to embrace more modern translations of scripture, the disdain over the use of instruments other then pianos and organs in the sanctuary, and the refusal to allow the use of video and other newer forms of media, are all examples of the inability of the church to engage in new ways to tell the old story. And the result is a younger generation that has left the church in droves because we have failed to communicate with them on their terms. So many times church members lament to me that they don’t have any young people in worship, and yet they continue to embrace worship styles that were practiced 50 years ago when they were growing up. I loved the Hardy Boys books, but I am not naïve enough to believe that if those books that I loved were marketed today without any updates, they would continue to have the same appeal. I am so glad that “Franklin W. Dixon” had the good sense to tell those wonderful stories in ways that speak to today’s young people so that Frank and Joe Hardy could continue to be role models to new generations. I long for the day when the church embraces new generations in the same way- finding new and relevant ways to tell the old, old story.